


No Easy Journey

by bssabrzs



Category: Football RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-16
Updated: 2015-02-16
Packaged: 2018-03-13 08:31:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3374765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bssabrzs/pseuds/bssabrzs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What it took to get them to the altar.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Easy Journey

**Author's Note:**

> The PTA is the Parent & Teacher Association that handles school activities such as fund raisers, discussions with parents, etc.

It hadn't been an easy journey to get to this day.

There had been paparazzi lurking behind every house gate, at every restaurant and in hordes at the practice facilities. There had been awkward pauses and oversimplifications as an attempt was made to explain to a child why daddy won't be with mommy anymore and why there will be two daddies. There had been long winded sentences in formal documents neither knew how to make heads or tails out of and drawn-out court dates as lawsuits for slander and defamation of character made the couple wonder what they were fighting for and who they were fighting against. There had been brief yet invaluable getaways to islands with names hard to pronounce and even harder to find on a map.

When the dust settled and the media storm calmed, they still stood strong. Strong and on their own feet to tell the few close friends and family members in attendance that it wasn't just a phase, a reckless lust laced conquest or career exhaustion leading them to the brink of utter confusion and misdirection. That what they had was real, tangible and made more sense than any play on the pitch ever could.

Both sets of their kids were excited and eager to welcome a new dad. They were now old enough to want to participate in the wedding and its planning yet young enough to not judge their fathers with closed minds on Steven and Xabi’s new life decision. The week leading up the wedding was full of last minute preparation; Alex overseeing table arrangements and menu selections. Everything down to the direction the flowers leaned was accounted for and Steven adored her for this. She was as meticulous in tending to this wedding as she was for their own. A thought that brought a warm smile to his face yet blanketed a smoldering pain down in his stomach, contemplating if this one woman powerhouse in a pencil skirt and heels bossing around caterers was as genuinely happy for him as she seemed to be. If the way her face glowed when around her new fiancé was any indication, Steven would try harder to swallow his doubt.

Nagore however was the contrast. While civil and pleasant, she kept her distance from anything relating to the wedding except the actual attendance of the ceremony. A broken wine glass the night of and seven page letter left on the floor of her empty closet the next morning spoke to Xabi everything he needed to know after he finally came clean. Her resentment waned in the seasons to follow but her headfirst participation in PTA activities and charity events the first few months displayed anything but her acceptance of the situation. Xabi's schedule became busy tenfold after the divorce, the kids participating in various activities and Nagore emailing him their games and recitals as if it were a travelling itinerary. She was a good mother and a good woman so the Basque knew, even with the occasional calls late at night from her discussing new drapery decisions, which disguised her "this house is no longer a home" sentiments, Xabi knew he made the best decision for both of them.

True to tradition, Steven and Xabi had decided not to see each other the day of the ceremony even though they had picked out suits together just weeks before. Steven's changing room was full of laughter and jokes, his daughters twirling in circles as they admired their dresses and Alex giving them a stern warning not to wear out the curls in their hair. With a kiss on the cheek, Alex ushered everyone out, glancing at her watch as the time drew closer for the wedding to start. He wasn't sure what was going on in Xabi's head, but looking in the mirror at himself Steven knew every decision in his life had been correct because it led him to this day.

Xabi finished putting on the last one of the pair of platinum cuff links Alex had given him earlier that morning as his "something new" item. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and put his arms at his side, trying to find the focus he knew he was capable of when standing at the corner of the pitch, ready to deliver a cross. Nagore, the only other person in his dressing room, approached her ex husband with warm eyes and gentle hands. She adjusted his tie, wiggling it into place before tucking it into the well-tailored jacket of his suit. Her palm slowly slid down the subtle patterned fabric of Xabi's tie before smiling at the other man and giving him a releasing kiss to his cheek, lips lingering for a moment. Sweeping off the tall man's shoulders, Nagore silently told the man she stood across from that she knew this was what made him truly happy. Xabi smiled in return, feeling the last piece to the puzzle fall into place. Nagore knew that smile. It was the same one Xabi had given with a simple "yes" when questioned if he loved Steven, standing in their old livingroom with papers waiting to be signed on the table between them.

The ceremony itself seemed like a blur to Steven. Not a foggy blur but a hazy, idealistic blur. The way your vision blurs when you finally open your eyes after having the sun shine through your closed lids for too long on the beach. It felt like Xabi had hit pause then fast forward, controlling his pace down the aisle. Slow motion, frame by frame, the altar so close yet so far. His feet heavy with nerves yet his mind light with love.

The ceremony itself seemed like a blur to Xabi. Not a foggy blur but a collection of distinct memories and specific perceptions running in rapid succession. It felt like every sense receptor in his body was turned up to max, feeling Steven's pulse under his skin as he brushed his thumb back and forth over his future husbands hand, listening to the words they would soon both have to repeat.

It hadn't been an easy journey to get to this day but Steven and Xabi stood strong. Strong and on their own feet to tell each other "I do".  


**Author's Note:**

> All publicly recognizable persons, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners and are fictional. The author(s) is/are in no way associated with said person(s) being depicted. Any resemblance is purely coincidental.


End file.
